Episode 9: The First Scandal

The evolution of Chicago continues with early settlement and the establishment of Fort Dearborn, at the mouth of the Chicago River. A diverse collection of residents of non-Native Americans begins the continuous occupation of Chicago and new conflict and controversies arise. Scratching out a living at this isolated post in Indian Country, competition over trade escalates requiring the involvement of the Secretary of War as Fort Dearborn is embroiled in Chicago’s very first scandal. We revisit the background of Jean Baptiste Point de Sable, characters and events leading up to this crisis at a time when the fur trade is still strong and the best business in town is selling goods to the soldiers at the fort. Several of these early folks now lend their names to the streets of today’s metropolis, but are mostly forgotten today. Join us to learn all about the scandal at Fort Dearborn, seven years after it was first constructed in Chicago. Links to Research and History Documents Chicago: Growth of a Metropolis, by Mayer & Wade Rising Up From Indian Country, by Ann Durkin-Keating Juliette Kinzie, by Ann Durkin-Keagin Thompson Plat of Chicago of 1830 in the Encyclopedia of Chicago Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History by Helen Hornbeck Tanner William Burnett, Trader in St. Joseph, Michigan Jay Treaty of 1794 John Kinzie Family Tree from Wauban, by Juliette Kinzie